Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler take a break from blame and responsibility to tackle a much easier subject: meaning in life. We discuss Susan Wolf's new book "Meaning in Life and Why it Matters," and play some excerpts from Tamler's recent discussion with her. Plus, we list some of our favorite listener-suggested drinking game ideas so far. (The contest for the free T-shirt is still open--send in your ideas before the next episode!)   Links Meaning in Life and Why it Matters by Susan Wolf [amazon.com affiliate link] Billie Pritchett on the Sam Harris and Free Will discussion. [bpritchett.blogspot.com] (Highly recommended!)  The Heaven's Gate Cult [wikipedia.org] Special Guest: Susan Wolf. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler argue some more about the role of emotion and intuition in blame judgments, and then offer some moral psychology-related recommendations for your New Year’s viewing and reading pleasure. Plus, can you turn listening to VBW into a good drinking game? Offer some suggestions and win a free Very Bad Wizards T-shirt!  Links Tamler's early defense of free will skepticism: "Darrow and Determinism" [naturalism.org] "No Soul? I Can Live with That. No Free Will? AHHHHH!!!" [psychologytoday.org] "Free Will Skepticism in Action" [naturalism.org] Tamler's interview with Galen Strawson [believermag.org] The Objective Attitude [philpapers.org] Daniel Miessler on Sam Harris vs. Very Bad Wizards [danielmiessler.com] The Sceptic by David Hume [econlib.org] Paul Russell’s Free Will, Art, Morality [verybadwizards.com] Locke [imdb.com] The Subjective Effects of Nitrous Oxide by William James [erowid.org] Kahan, D. M., Peters, E., Dawson, E. C., & Slovic, P. (2013). Motivated numeracy and enlightened s

Bestselling author and friend of the podcast Sam Harris joins Tamler and Dave for a marathon podcast. (Seriously, pack two pairs of astronaut diapers for this one). We  talk about the costs and benefits of religion, dropping acid in India, and the illusory nature of (a certain kind of) free will. Then we go at it on blame, moral responsibility, hatred, guilt, retribution, and vengeance. Sam thinks these are antiquated responses based on a belief in spooky metaphysics, Tamler thinks they are important components of human morality, and Dave just wants everyone to get along and be reasonable (like that nice Kant fellow).  Time markers (roughly) 0:00-47:00 Intro and costs and benefits of religion 47:00-77:30 Drugs, the self, free will 77:30-- Blame, guilt, vengeance, moral responsibility, desert.  Links Sam Harris [samharris.org] Waking Up: A guide to spirituality without religion by Sam Harris [amazon.com affiliate link] Daniel Dennett reviews "Free Will" by Sam Harris [naturalism.org] Sam Harris responds to

Film critic, VBW regular, and social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to talk about Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film, Do the Right Thing, a movie about a day in the life of a small Brooklyn community on the hottest day of summer, and how the day's events lead to a race riot. Which characters in the film deserve our sympathy? (Maybe all of them?) Who was Spike Lee criticizing with his depiction of the characters in this community? Why did Mookie start the riot at Sal's? Was his action justified? Was starting the riot the "Right Thing" that Spike Lee was referring to in the title? Twenty five years after its release, how much have things changed? [Please note: we recorded this episode before the Ferguson verdict, which is why--despite some parallels--we don't refer to the verdict or the aftermath.] Links Do the Right Thing [imdb.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: Insults [youtube.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: RIP Boom Box [youtube.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: Just Off the Boat [youtube.com] Wh

David and Tamler talk about a new study that links your belief in free will to the fullness of your bladder. How do our bodily states influence our metaphysical commitments? What's the best way to measure beliefs about free will? Can you get your prostate checked without having someone stick something in your private areas? Plus, an exclusive look at the shocking truth about social psychology experiments.   Links The Philosophical Implications of the Urge to Urinate by Dan Ladkin, Scientific American  Ent, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Embodied free will beliefs: Some effects of physical states on metaphysical opinions. Consciousness and Cognition, 27, 147-154. Free Will and Determinism Scale (Rakos, Laurene, Skala, & Slane, 2008, Behavior and Social Issues).    Support Very Bad Wizards

Following up their discussion of moral villains, Dave and Tamler argue about what makes a moral hero. Tamler defends Sharon Krause’s view that honor values can motivate heroic behavior. Dave accuses Tamler of being inconsistent (nothing wrong with that) and slightly Kantian (NOOOOOO!!!). In the final segment, we’re back on the same page fawning over Susan Wolf’s paper “Moral Saints.” Plus, are drunks more likely to be utilitarians? And why does Dave hate Temple Grandin? Links The Cold Logic of Drunk People by Emma Green [theatlantic.com] Duke, A. A., & Bègue, L. (2015). The drunk utilitarian: Blood alcohol concentration predicts utilitarian responses in moral dilemmas. Cognition, 134, 121-127. [sciencedirect.com] Wolf, S. (1982). Moral saints. The Journal of Philosophy, 419-439. [verybadwizards.com] Krause, S. R. (2002).  Honor and democratic reform (Ch. 5) [verybadwizards.com]. In Liberalism with honor [amazon.com affiliate link]. Harvard University Press.   Support Very Bad Wizards

Paul Bloom joins us to talk all things villainous -why we sometimes root for the bad guys, why we admire them even when we don't, why they are much more compelling than some of our heroes.  Then more evidence that we're really a movie podcast at heart: we list our top 5 villains and antiheroes from TV and film.  Plus, more on the benefits of religious rituals and how to make a sitcom about Himmler.     Our Top 5 Villains Paul Bloom  Todd Alquist (Breaking Bad) Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) The Joker (The Dark Knight) Bridgette Gregory (The Last Seduction) Agent Smith (The Matrix) Tamler Sommers Daniel Plainview (There Will be Blood)/Tony Montana (Scarface) Willie (Bad Santa) Tommy  (Goodfellas) Alonzo Harris (Training Day) Go-Go (Kill Bill Vol. 1)  David Pizarro Tom (Tom & Jerry) Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects) Vic Mackey (The Shield) Harry Lime (The Third Man) Hal 9000 (2001 A Space Odyssey) Clips:  "You need people like me.  The bad guy."  "I'm sorry Dave.  I'm

Tamler and David get bullied into talking about "anti-natalism," (the view that it is unethical to bring a being into existence), and to defend our ethical position as "breeders." Well, one of us defends it, at least. The other one? Well, you'll have to judge for yourself... Along the way we discuss how much pleasure you would need to equal the pain and suffering you've experienced, the joy of pooping (especially while on E), and Tamler explains why he calls David a Kantian, and why he thinks it's such an insult. For those who have missed the arguing, it's back on this one.  Links Anti-Natalism [wikipedia.org] Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 [usccb.org]: And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive. And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun.  "No Life is Good" David Benatar.  [Philosopher's Magazine] Don't Have Any Children, by David Benatar [moreintelligentlife.com] David Benatar Radio Interview (MP3) on 702.co

Dave and Tamler take a shot at answering the question: what is an evolutionary psychologist? Is it just a psychologist who believes in evolution? (No.) Is it a psychologist who embraces a computational, modular theory of the mind? (No. Well, maybe…we’re not sure.) Are they psychologists who are part of a cult that fanatically endorse evolutionary explanations for every aspect of human judgment and behavior? (No! Well, most of them aren’t, anyway.) So what are they? And why do they generate so much hostility? Plus, we go back to Genesis (the real story of how we evolved) to offer another thought experiment: what is it like to be Adam and Eve before eating the forbidden fruit? What is it like not to know good and evil? And we give our aspiring playwright listeners a perfect idea for a one-act play: Abraham and Isaac walking down the mountain after the aborted sacrifice. Links The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil [wikipedia.org] The Leviathan [wikipedia.org] E.O. Wilson [wikipedia.org] Sociobiology [wi

Experience Machines, Chinese Rooms, Original Positions, and Ice Buckets.  ("I don't know what you have in mind for this evening Homer, but count me out!")  Dave and Tamler continue their discussion on thought experiments--how they can be effective, the difference between their use in philosophy and psychology, and how they can spin out of control like deadly viruses and become the disease they were trying to cure. Plus, do our motives matter when it comes to raising money for charity?  Links Chinese Room thought experiment [wikipedia.org] Turing Test [wikipedia.org] Ice bucket challenge [alsa.org] Weird Al Yankovic does the Ice Bucket Challenge [youtube.com] Flight of the Conchords "Pro-Aids" [youtube.com] Rawls' Original Position [plato.stanford.edu] The Veil of Ignorance [wikipedia.org] Press Your Luck "No Whammies!" [youtube.com] Behaviorism [wikipedia.org] Logical positivism [wikipedia.org] Support Very Bad Wizards

Episode Audio Dave and Tamler talk about the value and purposes of thought experiments in philosophy and science. Does the trolley problem tell us more about moral psychology than how people make judgments in trolley problems? Can an imagined scenario about two balls refute an almost two thousand year old theory of falling objects?  When young virgin Dave learned all the physical facts about sex, did he learn anything new when it finally happened?  All this and more in Part One of our two part episode on this topic. Links The experience machine [wikipedia.org] Mary the color scientist [wikipedia.org] Zombies [wikipedia.org] Qualia [wikipedia.org] The Violinist from "A defense of Abortion" [wikipedia.org] The Ship of Theseus [wikipedia.org] Newcomb's Paradox [wikipedia.org] Ring of Gyges [wikipedia.org] Peter Singer's thought experiment [wikipedia.org] Veil of Ignorance [wikipedia.org] Galileo's Balls [philosophical-investigations.org] Tamler's Zombie Paper Support Very Bad Wizards

Dude, do you ever think about how, like, we could be all be in the Matrix? Seriously, no no, dude, I'm being serious. It's like, none of this might be real, you know?  Actually we don't know. We honestly can't believe we made it to 50 episodes, so we must be brains in a vat. But we play along and celebrate with...a movie episode! We list our five favorite films about the subjective or questionable nature of reality. Our only rule: we couldn't choose The Matrix.  Listen to this episode--your Mom says it's psychologically taut. Links Kramer, A. D., Guillory, J. E., & Hancock, J. T. (2014). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Rashomon (David) [imdb.com] Exit Through the Gift Shop (Tamler and David) [imdb.com] Banksy on "Life Remote Control" (clip, youtube.com) Paul Bloom on art and forgery [ted.com] Spirited Away (Tamler) [imdb.com] My Neighbor Totoro (David) [imdb.com] Mr. Snuffleupagus [wikipedia.org] A

Special guest Walter Sinnott-Armstrong joins the podcast to explain how his theory which desperately needs a new name ("contrastivism") can dissolve most of the fundamental problems and paradoxes in philosophy.  We also talk about psychopaths--what they are and what we can do about them.  But first we read and respond to an angry piece of fan mail (ok, maybe 'fan' is not the right word) from Sam Harris, trashing us--mostly Tamler--for our comments on VBW 45 about the new atheists.  Links Sam Harris debates Andrew Sullivan [samharris.org] Richard Dawkins on the harm of fairy tales (read until the end) [telegraph.co.uk] Walter Sinnott-Armtrong's Home Page [duke.edu] Sinnott‐Armstrong, W. (2008). A contrastivist manifesto. Social Epistemology, 22(3), 257-270.  Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter. (2006) It's not my fault: Global warming and individual moral obligations. Advances in the Economics of Environmental Resources 5, 285-307. The Memory of Jurors: Enhancing Trial Performance by Anders Sandberg, Walter Sinnott

Dave and Tamler take a mulligan and try to resolve their conflict about restorative justice.  Do restorative processes lead to more just outcomes than other approaches? Is it more vulnerable to instances of prejudice and bias? Is revenge a form of restorative justice? Also, on this episode: can being sexist get you killed in a hurricane? Are replication attempts a form of bullying? And why is Dave hoarding gefilte fish in his pantry? Links Ed Yong on Hurricane Study [phenomena.nationalgeographic.com] Scatterplot blog on hurricane study [scatter.wordpress.com] Simine Vazire on "Repligate" [sometimesimwrong.typepad.com] Restorative Justice online [restorativejustice.org] "Restorative Justice in Texas: Past, Present, and Future."  by Mark Levin [texaspolicy.com] Bridges to Life [bridgestolife.org] Michelle Anderson The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness [amazon.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Tamler and David leech off of their listeners and dedicate an episode to their favorite comments, questions, and criticisms from the past few weeks (but not before Tamler goes on a rant about bicycle helmets). Included in this episode: Does doing research on hypothetical moral dilemmas actually say anything about how people would act in real life? Do people make different moral judgments in their native language than in a more recently acquired language? Do Tamler and David only appeal to intuitions when it's convenient for the view they are defending? Do they hold "barbaric" views about justice and revenge? Does doing philosophy make your life better? And, perhaps most importantly, why do we seem to mention porn on every episode?  Links Bicycle helmet effectiveness [wikipedia.org] Tamler's appearance on The Partially Examined Life podcast [partiallyexaminedlife.com] Axons and Axioms podcast [axonsandaxioms.com] Spacetime Mind podcast [spacetimemind.com] A valuable site if you're interested in putting toget

May I have your attention please? Will the real Josh Knobe please stand up? Will the real... [you know what, screw this--we're just dating ourselves.] X-phi phenom Josh Knobe rejoins the podcast to talk about the true self, naked people, gay preachers, and the Talmud. Plus, what happens when Tamler takes a sleeping pill by mistake in the afternoon and goes on Facebook? Why do you have get so drunk on Purim? And Dave discovers a Google-assisted loophole that allows you to be an immoral shit your whole life and get away with it.  Links Joshua Knobe's home page [yale.edu] XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders [amazon.com affiliate link] Gray, K., Knobe, J., Sheskin, M., Bloom, P., & Barrett, L. F. (2011). More than a body: mind perception and the nature of objectification. Journal of personality and social psychology, 101, 1207. [yale.edu] Moral Scrupulosity [wikipedia.org] Newman, G. E., Bloom, P., & Knobe, J. (2014). Value Judgments and the True Self. Personality and Social Psych

A British tabloid article about kids, brains, and spatial skills somehow provokes the biggest argument ever on the podcast. Dave and Tamler get into it about gender, toys, properly rounded brains, and balanced "play diets." Is Dave a sanctimonious toe-the-line academic liberal?  Is Tamler a Fox-News watching, mysoginist genetic determinist? Do they actually disagree about anything?  Plus Dave takes Tamler back after his fling with Partially Examined Life,  and we discuss whether the new documentary The Unbelievers the atheist version of God is Not Dead? Links The Partially Examined Life podcast, and Tamler's Precognition of Ep. 93. [partiallyexaminedlife.com] Girls and boys DO have different brains – should they have different toys? by Rachel Carlyle [express.co.uk] The Unbelievers [unbelieversmovie.com] My Growing Disappointment with the New Atheist Movement: A Review of the The UnBelievers.  Ami Palmer.  [missiontotransition.blogspot.com] Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2002). Math=

David and Tamler argue about the use of autonomous robots and drones in warfare.  Could it lead to less suffering during wars and afterwards? Would nations be motivated to design robots that behave ethically on the battlefield? Can David get through an episode without mentioning Star Trek? Plus, Tamler distances himself from the villainous philosophy professor in the new movie God is Not Dead and David complains about the growing number of porn journals.   Links Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) [kipp.org] God's Not Dead [imdb.org] Arkin, R. C. (2010). The case for ethical autonomy in unmanned systems. Journal of Military Ethics, 9(4), 332-341. Kahn, P. W. (2002). The Paradox of Riskless Warfare. Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, 22(3), 2-7. [yale.edu] Singer, P. W. (2009). Wired for war: The robotics revolution and conflict in the twenty-first century. Penguin. [amazon.com affiliate link]  "A Taste of Armageddon" Episode 23, Star Trek (The Original Series) [wikipedia.org] Moral Machines in the Mil

Dave and Tamler talk about a recent study that seems to support the view that "justice is what the judge had for breakfast" (or at least how long ago the parole board had breakfast), and that makes Tamler question his position on widening judicial discretion in criminal justice.  In the second segment David tries to work out his guilt about manipulating consumers into buying stuff for whatever shadowy organization employs him (BEWorks!), and we discuss the ethics of nudges in government and consumer marketing. Should the government frame issues like organ donation in ways that will benefit society? How much of a threat are nudges to our autonomy? Should Apple take steps to ensure that people can control themselves when making in-app purchases? Tamler even comes up with a "theory," which means that there must have been something wrong with him. Please note that portions of the audio during the second segment are little spotty, likely due to a hex or poltergeist in one of the microphones.  We'll have that worke

Can a fully determined creature deliberate? How big a role does conscious reasoning play in moral judgment and everyday life? Are we responsible for our thoughts and actions? Paul Bloom rejoins us against his better judgment to discuss his book "Just Babies" and his recent article in The Atlantic that set the internet on the fire and riled up the likes of Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne.  Plus, what's the difference (if any) between getting into a Star Trek transporter and getting an axe to the head, and why does David know so much about boy bands? Links Just Babies by Paul Bloom [amazon.com-vbw affiliate link] The War on Reason by Paul Bloom [theatlantic.com] Jerry Coyne replies to Paul Bloom's Article [whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com] Bloom replies to Coyne [whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com] Tamler is the only one who realized he has a face for radio.  Special Guest: Paul Bloom. Support Very Bad Wizards